Let's make this clear right off the bat. Nick Young is not a good defensive player. He occasionally loses focus for a possession of five. If the opposing team has a shooting guard that does more than stand around for corner threes, he's going to give up his fair share of points.
I could not care less.
The Sixers are not a great team. They're okay. They win a few games here and there. Next season isn't going to be overwhelmingly different unless the team makes a huge splash in free agency this offseason. So if the team isn't going to be good, I would hope that it is at least entertaining.
As I type this I am watching the Sixers get outplayed and outhuslted by the New York Knicks. I turned on the game about halfway through the second quarter and did a quick scan of the court. You know who I was looking for?
Swaggy P.
I saw the score and automatically chalked the game up as a loss. (Side note: if they come back and win this, won't I look silly tomorrow). But even when the team is losing, Nick Young always makes things interesting. You never know what is going to happen when the ball is in his hands, although you can safely assume that it won't be a pass, unless it's an insane behind-the-back no look pass that Michael Jordan couldn't have handled in his prime.
Young makes some of the most incredible baskets I've ever seen. Some of the shots he makes could be duplicated by, maybe, three other players in the league. Although, to be fair, some of the shots he takes couldn't be made by anybody, which is why he's only shooting 41% on the year.
But guess what? Young has never shot less than 40% over the course of a season in his entire career. For all the shots you can take at him for his shot selection, he has consistently provided offense for whatever team he's playing for.
Not to mention the fact that he is always a basket or two away from catching fire and scoring 10 straight points so fast you didn't even realize it happened.
Nick Young's confidence level rivals that of Kobe Bryant and probably exceeds that of LeBron, Durant and most other stars in the league. Because of this, you know that in the last few minutes of the game, when every shot counts, he isn't going to shy away from the ball. If Jrue Holiday is injured or totally covered on a final shot, who would you want to pull up from downtown when the team is down by three with four seconds left?
Evan Turner? No. Dorrell Wright? Not a chance. Spencer Hawes? Just stop.
The easy, and correct, answer to that question, is Swaggy P.
The final point I'd like to make is that he won't even cost that much money. Young's current contract pays him about $6 million per year. There is no reason Philadelphia couldn't re-sign him for the same amount, or even potentially a little less if you can sell him on the fact that he'll get consistent playing time on a team with no other serious threats from beyond-the-arc.
At the end of the day, the Sixers probably won't re-sign Young. No matter where he plays next season, though, those fans can count themselves in for a treat. Because if nothing else, Nick Young is one of the most entertaining players in the NBA, and entertainment is what it's all about.
-Sean Lerman
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
How Badly did the Sixers lose the Andrew Bynum trade?
It is really easy to look back at the Andrew Bynum trade and think about how poorly the 76ers made out in the deal. And I mean really easy. They gave up one of the top perimeter defenders in the league, a young, talented center, and an athletic swingman for Bynum, who has as many minutes played this year as I do, and Jason Richardson, who is roughly 74 1/2 years old.
However, things aren't always as simple of what was given up for what came back. For example, getting rid of Igoudala's contract was arguably the most important part of the trade for Philadelphia.
Yes, having Nik Vucevic and his 12.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game would really be a nice addition to the team right now, especially since the Sixers are relatively weak in the frontcourt, but for the cap relief that getting rid of Iggy provided, those parts of the trade are probably a wash.
Having canceled out those two aspects, the next step has to be evaluating the remaining aspects of the deal. The Sixers traded Moe Harkless and a protected first round pick for Jason Richardson and Andrew Bynum. This is where the trade gets a little shaky.
Bynum is basically a moot point here. He hasn't played a game yet this season. I highly doubt that he will. If he does, it'll be for a few minutes per game at the end of the year for no reason other than showing himself to potential suitors in free agency.
Moe Harkless is nothing particularly special. He is averaging just 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds on the season. This wouldn't be too horrible for a rookie, except for the fact that he is playing nearly 20 minutes per game! For comparison, Dorell Wright, in roughly the same number of minutes per game in 06-07, outdid Harkless in most of the important statistical categories.
I don't think anybody is calling Wright a high quality NBA player, and at least he can hit a jump shot.
So no serious loss there in getting rid of Harkless. Moving on to the protected first round pick, there is only so much that can be said. Mid-to-late first round picks don't often pan out, so a protected pick isn't overwhelmingly valuable, and it's more than acceptable as far as a loss in a trade that offered the potential of Andrew Bynum playing a full season in Philly.
Jason Richardson is not the player he was in 2005. He's not even the player he was in 2010. Unfortunately, he's still being paid like that player. Richardson is due about 6.5 million dollars per year for the next three years, the last of which is a player option.
Kind of makes you wonder why the Sixers amnestied one year of Andres Nocioni's deal.
J-Rich's contract is going to hurt the team over the next few years, but not too badly considering how much cap Philadelphia cut in other parts of the trade.
Overall, the bottom line here is that the trade was not a success by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't the disaster many people are making it out to be either.
I just can't wait until the Sixers spend 60 millions dollars on Al Jefferson or Josh Smith and commit to another four years of finishing five games under .500.
-Sean Lerman
However, things aren't always as simple of what was given up for what came back. For example, getting rid of Igoudala's contract was arguably the most important part of the trade for Philadelphia.
Yes, having Nik Vucevic and his 12.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game would really be a nice addition to the team right now, especially since the Sixers are relatively weak in the frontcourt, but for the cap relief that getting rid of Iggy provided, those parts of the trade are probably a wash.
Having canceled out those two aspects, the next step has to be evaluating the remaining aspects of the deal. The Sixers traded Moe Harkless and a protected first round pick for Jason Richardson and Andrew Bynum. This is where the trade gets a little shaky.
Bynum is basically a moot point here. He hasn't played a game yet this season. I highly doubt that he will. If he does, it'll be for a few minutes per game at the end of the year for no reason other than showing himself to potential suitors in free agency.
Moe Harkless is nothing particularly special. He is averaging just 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds on the season. This wouldn't be too horrible for a rookie, except for the fact that he is playing nearly 20 minutes per game! For comparison, Dorell Wright, in roughly the same number of minutes per game in 06-07, outdid Harkless in most of the important statistical categories.
I don't think anybody is calling Wright a high quality NBA player, and at least he can hit a jump shot.
So no serious loss there in getting rid of Harkless. Moving on to the protected first round pick, there is only so much that can be said. Mid-to-late first round picks don't often pan out, so a protected pick isn't overwhelmingly valuable, and it's more than acceptable as far as a loss in a trade that offered the potential of Andrew Bynum playing a full season in Philly.
Jason Richardson is not the player he was in 2005. He's not even the player he was in 2010. Unfortunately, he's still being paid like that player. Richardson is due about 6.5 million dollars per year for the next three years, the last of which is a player option.
Kind of makes you wonder why the Sixers amnestied one year of Andres Nocioni's deal.
J-Rich's contract is going to hurt the team over the next few years, but not too badly considering how much cap Philadelphia cut in other parts of the trade.
Overall, the bottom line here is that the trade was not a success by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't the disaster many people are making it out to be either.
I just can't wait until the Sixers spend 60 millions dollars on Al Jefferson or Josh Smith and commit to another four years of finishing five games under .500.
-Sean Lerman
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Welcome to Sports With Lerm!
Hello out there and welcome to Sports with Lerm! Before you go on and read all the mind-blowing things I have to say about the world of sports, you may be interested in why I'm qualified to distribute these awe-inspiring bits of knowledge.
I suppose it would be important to start with who I am. My name is Sean Lerman. I am a 22-year-old sports talk show host, and you can listen to my show, The Shot Clock on Wednesday's at 9:30 p.m. on 1490 WBCB and oh look here's the link right here! How convenient!
I'm also a senior at Bloomsburg University, and I work in the sports information department where I write game stories and press releases as well as stat football, basketball, baseball, soccer, field hockey, wrestling and the occasional stone-circle death match.
As far as my actual athletic experience is concerned, I played baseball all throughout high school and spent a season as a backup to the backup's backup catcher at Westminster College. I stopped going there because in case you aren't aware, Westminster is a one-traffic-light town about half an hour from Lake Erie and 15 minutes from Ohio. Not exactly a bustling borough.
I live in Bloomsburg right now while I finish up my final semester. After which, I'll be returning home to Philadelphia where *crossing fingers* I can get a real job in radio.
In the meantime, I'll be posting here at least once per week about all the crazy and interesting things happening in the world of sports. You may even see the occasional podcast with myself and Josh "The Hammer" Hannock. His blog is right here, but I promise that you'll like mine better.
Well that's probably enough rambling about how wonderful I am for one week. Check back soon for all kinds of fun stuff!
-Sean Lerman
I suppose it would be important to start with who I am. My name is Sean Lerman. I am a 22-year-old sports talk show host, and you can listen to my show, The Shot Clock on Wednesday's at 9:30 p.m. on 1490 WBCB and oh look here's the link right here! How convenient!
I'm also a senior at Bloomsburg University, and I work in the sports information department where I write game stories and press releases as well as stat football, basketball, baseball, soccer, field hockey, wrestling and the occasional stone-circle death match.
As far as my actual athletic experience is concerned, I played baseball all throughout high school and spent a season as a backup to the backup's backup catcher at Westminster College. I stopped going there because in case you aren't aware, Westminster is a one-traffic-light town about half an hour from Lake Erie and 15 minutes from Ohio. Not exactly a bustling borough.
I live in Bloomsburg right now while I finish up my final semester. After which, I'll be returning home to Philadelphia where *crossing fingers* I can get a real job in radio.
In the meantime, I'll be posting here at least once per week about all the crazy and interesting things happening in the world of sports. You may even see the occasional podcast with myself and Josh "The Hammer" Hannock. His blog is right here, but I promise that you'll like mine better.
Well that's probably enough rambling about how wonderful I am for one week. Check back soon for all kinds of fun stuff!
-Sean Lerman
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